Foodstuff with unprocessed salt and method of making the same

Abstract

A natural, and unprocessed seasoning can be used in a flavored foodstuff, the unprocessed seasoning, or salt is used with an adhesive at least partially coating a nut, and adhered to the natural adhesive. A novel flavored foodstuff is disclosed, utilizing the unprocessed salt with a roasted nut and method of making the novel foodstuff is also disclosed.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present application claims priority to, and incorporates by reference in its entirety, U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 164,213, filed May 20, 2015.[0002]Mass produced foods have been both a boon and bane for society. Modern processes have enabled production of large quantities of food to be available at moderate costs for a large number of people. Additives to the food, such as flavoring, coloring, and preservative ingredients, both chemical and biologic have also increased shelf-life, appearance, texture, and palatability of the food.[0003]Like other great contributions to society however, mass produced foods have also increased certain health risks with their consumption. Large quantities of food are processed at unethically high speeds for efficiency resulting in low safety standards, poor food quality, low cleanliness standards, toxins from cleaning chemicals and the machinery, and subsequently food poisoning outbreaks arise from the meth...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0057]The roasting operation can be conducted on a batch or continuous basis. The residence time of the nuts in the oven is adjusted to provide the desired time of roasting; e.g., a range of about one minute to about 30 minutes. In an embodiment, the nuts may be roasted in an oven in a range of 5 to 10 minutes, and in a preferred embodiment, the nuts may be roasted for about 7 to about 8 minutes. Any of the apparatuses conventionally employed in the art to effect the dry roasting of nuts can be utilized in the above batch or continuous roasting step. It is an advantage of the present invention that superior results are achieved when air roasting nuts coated in the manner described above.

[0058]An adhesive and / or an additional flavorant may also be used in the method of the present invention. Adhesives are well known in the art. Illustrative of suitable adhesive materials are those synthetic and derived vegetable gums such as xanthan, arabic, and guar, as well as dextrins, modified starches, and the like. Other optional ingredients to control viscosity and tackiness, including proteinaceous materials such as albuminoids, e.g., gelatin, albumins, glutenous materials, and like agents, can be present in the adhesive solution. The dry adhesive predust can employ any of these materials, preferably a dextrin or pregelatinized starch. The gelatin and like thickening / adhesive agents, are preferably employed in lesser amounts than the gums, and at levels up to about five percent by weight. In a preferred embodiment, a natural adhesive may be used, such as Yerba Mate. The use of this adhesive is disclosed in application number 2481-9P, filed on even date herewith, and incorporated by reference herein.

[0059]The nuts disclosed herein can also optionally and / or additionally be coated with any type of flavorant, or seasoning. Some examples include, non-exhaustively, allspice, anise, basil, beau monde seasoning salt, caraway, cardamom, pepper, chives, cilantro, five spice Chinese powder, garlic, ginger, juniper berries, mace, marjoram, mei yen seasoning, mint, mustard, nutmeg, oregano, paprika, parsley, pine nuts, poppy seed, pumpkin pie spice, rosemary, saffron, sage, savory, salt, sea salt, sesame seeds, shallot, soy sauce, tabasco, tarragon, thyme, turmeric, Worcestershire sauce, and zest.

[0060]The following describes a general procedure for harvesting the unprocessed salt. In order to harvest the salt, the salts are harvested in various ways depending on the origin. Salt evaporation ponds (alternatively salterns / salt pans) are shallow, artificial ponds designed in the vein of natural salt pans which are geological formations that separate salt from water. Seawater or brine is fed into the ponds and the water subsequently evaporates revealing the salt as free to harvest. The variable algal concentrations can be seen physically by the vivid colors of the evaporation ponds. The salt remaining after evaporation has many of the properties of the algae including minerals, vitamins, and nutrients. Up to five percent of the weight of dry sea salt is a mix of around 100 elements and over 80 additional compounds vital for good health. Salt found in mountains is mostly harvested by hand so the natural minerals from the sediment and fossilization remain until the salt is processed. Then, instead of processing the salt, the salt will only be treated to remove harmful matter while the nutritional value of the natural elements will remain. After the various salts are harvested and treated, they will be applied to the nuts resulting in a supercharged snack packed with all the natural benefits of nuts and of unprocessed salts.EXAMPLES

[0061]The present invention is further exemplified, but not limited, by the following representative examples, which are intended to illustrate the invention and are not to be construed as being limitations thereto.

Problems solved by technology

Like other great contributions to society however, mass produced foods have also increased certain health risks with their consumption.

Large quantities of food are processed at unethically high speeds for efficiency resulting in low safety standards, poor food quality, low cleanliness standards, toxins from cleaning chemicals and the machinery, and subsequently food poisoning outbreaks arise from the methods of food preparation in factories.

Other consequences of mass produced food are the epidemic of obesity, death of children due to food borne illness and allergy contaminates, and the poor effect on the environment.

As a result of the loss of volatiles thermal expansion of the nut occurs, forming many small cracks and fissures in the nut.

However, flavoring added to the hot nuts are generally volatilized and only a minor amount, if any, remains to be absorbed by the nut.

As a result of these physical phenomena of the nut during roasting and cooling, the prior art processes fail to impart substantial flavor to the nut itself.

There has been a failure in the prior art to recognize that nut surface temperature during the application of flavorings to nuts is critical if the flavoring is to be absorbed rather than remain merely as a surface coating.

While traditional roasting and / or salting or coating methods add flavor to nuts, there are considerable drawbacks associated therewith.

Some major limitations of flavoring of nuts such as deep fat fried / dry roasted cashew nuts / peanuts with powdered spices include: (1) presence of thermo resistant bacterial load, which creates safety problems during storage.

(2) Non-uniformity of the flavor quality (3) reduced impact of natural spice flavor, and (4) rapid loss of aroma during storage and presence of intense colored spots randomly distributed throughout the surface of the nut.

Oleoresins do not have many of the disadvantages inherent in the use of powdered spices in terms of flavored quality, uniformity, and separation of storage.